Process Technology Advancements at IEDM 2007

December Process Technology Updates

Every December, semiconductor device, circuit, and process engineers from all over the world meet in one of two cold cities that see substantially less tourism in the winter months than during the summer months. (The semiconductor engineers can well learn from memory device and system engineers – their December meetings are always conveniently scheduled in Maui, Hawaii [12].)

In odd years, the semiconductor device, circuit, and process engineers attend IEDM in Washington DC. In even years, these engineers attend IEDM in San Francisco. Since 2007 is an odd number, the aforementioned engineers converged once again in Washington DC to examine the latest advancements in electron-devices engineering.

In session 10 of IEDM 2007, various companies, including Intel, TSMC and Fujitsu presented details on their respective 45 nm semiconductor process technology. This article summarizes the details presented in the various papers in session 10.